Favorite 0 Featuring Jessica Corwin, RD · August 30 2011 at 12:25 pm

Registered dietitian Jessica Butcher goes over the Diabetic Food Pyramid and some unique measuring tools for the average consumer. Host, Gerry Barnaby -  Hey, what’s...

Registered dietitian Jessica Butcher goes over the Diabetic Food Pyramid and some unique measuring tools for the average consumer.

Host, Gerry Barnaby -  Hey, what’s happenin’, Barnaby here.  It’s time to talk food pyramids – plural!  Because there is the usual food pyramid that we all know about.  But now, I have just learned, from Jessica Butcher, Registered Dietician, there’s a diabetic food pyramid?  What’s that all about?

Health Coach, Jessica Butcher, RD –  That’s true.  There is a diabetic version of the food guide pyramid and they, I mean, it’s very much like the typical food pyramid you’d see, except for there are a few tweaks made in those many carbohydrates throughout the day.

Barnaby – So they moved some things around, did they?

Jessica – They definitely did.  So if you’re looking up in the meat section, you’re going to find cheeses there.  And cheese would be typically found in the dairy category.  But, because cheese has much less carbohydrates than milk or yogurt, they moved it over to the meat and protein section instead.  And then down at the very base of the pyramid, whereas our, the typical food guide pyramid, would only have your grains, your cereals, your breads, the diabetic food guide pyramid pulls in the starch vegetables and beans as well.  So you’re actually going to find your corn, your potatos, your green peas – those are all going to be right there in the base of the food guide pyramid. 

Barnaby – So if you are a diabetic, it’s best to get thee to the diabetic food guide pyramid to figure out what you should be eating and in what portions.  And that brings me to the next part of our conversation.  We way over consume on the portions, don’t we Jessica?

Jessica – We certainly can.  It can be very eye-opening to see what a true portion is.  And a great example would be these two apples right here.  You know, the diabetic food guide pyramid guide should only have two servings of fruit.  This would be one serving, this is at least two servings.  You only need a small portion of fruit to actually get the amount of nutrition you need to get you get you through the day. 

Barnaby – Well in this day and age, I mean, this just seems to be like a teeny, tiny little apple.  That looks more correctly sized, but really that is the one you should be shooting for if you want just a correct portion.

Jessica – Well, and it makes it easier too on people who feel they’re not going to be able to get all their fruit servings in during the day.  If this is the larger apple, this is the one that you’re choosing for your day, you already have two servings met, so you’re halfway to your goal.

Barnaby – Allrightie, well, you know it is barbeque season, so let’s about meat, because I think a lot of people eat waaay to much meat.  Let’s talk about the correct serving size. 

Jessica – Alright. Well, when it comes to picking up, maybe you’re picking up a big steak to put out on the grill, a good option would be this size steak right here.  You only need about three ounces.  Rather than try to combine all of them into one giant serving – which is often what you see being sold – you can measure that out.  If you don’t have – if you can’t remember how to eyeball that in the store, just use the palm of your hand, ‘cause this area here represents that rough size.  And it’s basically the size of a deck of cards to get you the right proportion for your meat.

Barnaby – And you know what the cool thing is?  Is you can actually use your hand for all sorts of measuring, such as….?

Jessica – Yeah, that’s very true.  Let’s use this thing of orange juice here as an example.  My fist represents a half or, one full cup.  That’s about, because this orange juice is two full cups – two of my fists can tell you exactly how much juice you can actually need.

Barnaby – Alrightie, let’s talk about salad dressing, say.  You only want a couple of tablespoons of that.  How are you going to measure that with your hands?

Jessica – Alright.  If you’re measuring out your salad dressing, the tip of your thumb, this area right here, that  would be about one tablespoon and about two tablespoons should be more than enough for your salad.

Barnaby – Ok, on own to teaspoons?

Jessica – For a teaspoon you can even use your index finger, right here, and that would be a great serving size if you’re measuring out some oil. Maybe oil and vinegar for your salad instead?

Barnaby – I tell you what – who woulda thought?  Great advice as always on HelloLife.net because we’re all about matching your commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

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